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Cited by 97Vaccine Coverage and HesitancyCOVID-19 Prevention and ImpactCOVID-19 epidemiological studies

Anticipation of COVID-19 vaccines reduces willingness to socially distance

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Andersson, Ola, Campos-Mercade, Pol, Meier, Armando N., Wengström, Erik·2021·Journal of Health Economics
DOI 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2021.102530PMC PMC8442531
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Abstract

We investigate how the anticipation of COVID-19 vaccines affects voluntary social distancing. In a large-scale preregistered survey experiment with a representative sample, we study whether providing information about the safety, effectiveness, and availability of COVID-19 vaccines affects the willingness to comply with public health guidelines. We find that vaccine information reduces peoples' voluntary social distancing, adherence to hygiene guidelines, and their willingness to stay at home. Getting positive information on COVID-19 vaccines induces people to believe in a swifter return to normal life. The results indicate an important behavioral drawback of successful vaccine development: An increased focus on vaccines can lower compliance with public health guidelines and accelerate the spread of infectious disease. The results imply that, as vaccinations roll out and the end of a pandemic feels closer, policies aimed at increasing social distancing will be less effective, and stricter policies might be required.

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  • Since the vaccine rollout commenced late 2020/early 2021, it is possible that perception of risk has decreased, thus influencing transmission-preventative behaviour generally.

    “Moreover, since the vaccine rollout commenced late 2020/early 2021, it is possible that perception of risk has decreased, thus influencing transmission-preventative behaviour generally [41].”

    From Facilitators and barriers to social distancing for young people during the COVID-19 pandemic (2022) · cites this paper as [41]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Andersson, O., Campos-Mercade, P., Meier, A. N., & Wengström, E.
Affiliations
  • Uppsala University (SE)
  • University of Basel (CH)
  • Lund University (SE)
Corresponding author
Wengström, Erik
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Health Economics
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-12
Volume
80
Pages
102530
ISSN
0167-6296 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jhealeco.2021.102530
PMC
PMC8442531
OpenAlex
W3199716700
Cited by
97
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 9
FWCI
11.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Health Economics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • SERVAL (Université de Lausanne) (publishedVersion)
  • edoc (University of Basel) (acceptedVersion)
  • Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja (acceptedVersion)
  • Uppsala University Publications (Uppsala University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • IRIS (submittedVersion)
  • Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
  • edoc (University of Basel)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • National Research Foundation
  • Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (201956)
  • Danmarks Grundforskningsfond (#DNRF134)
  • Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › COVID-19 Prevention and Impact
  • Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Modeling and Simulation › COVID-19 epidemiological studies
Keywords
COVID-19 vaccines, social distancing, vaccine information, public health recommendations, hygiene compliance, return to normal life, pandemic policy, vaccine rollout, disease transmission
MeSH terms
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 Vaccines, Humans, Vaccines, Pandemics

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